de lorme



A. 0. DE LORM E.

H IGNITION SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 29. 19H.

Patented Deb. 7,1920.

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4% arr (W ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED 0. DE LORME, or EAsI ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR To SPLl'lIfiORF ELECTRICAL COMPANY, 0 NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

IGNITION SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. *7, 1920.

Application filed October 29, 1917. Serial N0. 199,134.

firing the fuel charges in an internal com-i bastion engine, particularly of the inulti cylinder type. The system which will be described herein relates to the method of firing an eight cylinder V-engine in which the angle between the cylindersis 15 degrees.

An application filed by Carl T. Mason and.

William J. Hart, on October 16, 1917, Serial No. 196,804,- describes the special arrangementswhich must be adopted to fire an engine of this character and sets forth means for accomplishing the result. My invention is directed to improvements of certain details of the above mentioned application and hence much of thedescriptive matter'thereoi will be found in this application in order to make the same clearly understood, but no claim is made for the broad invention set forth in the above mentioned application.

In an eight cylinder engine of the four cycle type our ignition sparks are required for each revolution of the crank shaft or one spark for every 90 degrees of rotation of the said shaft. The ordinary two pole type of magneto delivers two sparks substantially symmetrical for each revolution of the armature o1" rotor; hence toget four sparks the magneto would have to be driven at twice crank shaft speed. It is at once seen that these sparks occur for every 90 degrees of rotation of the crank shaft and in order to use a magneto to fire multi-cylinder engines, for example an eight cylinder one, it has been customary, in the past, to place the cylinders at an angle of 90 degrees. Where the cylinders are placed at an angle of 45 degrees it becomes evident that the sparks must be delivered at intervals of 15 and 185 degrees of crank shaft rotation and it is at once seen that the ordinary magneto or ignition system cannot be utilized; In the said Mason-Hart application the problem was solved in a unique manner by using a magneto of the Dixie type, as set forth in Patent 1,226,233, issued 'May 15', 1917, to Charles ,1. Mason, wherein there is an adjustable field structure carrying the high tension coil havng the usual primary and secondary windings and a rotor operating in connection wlth the field structure which is capable of plroduclng four current impulses in the ignitIon coil for each rotation of the rotot, all of which will be hereinafter referred to, and by utilizing a cam on the rotor of such a construction that it acts on thefnova'ble arm of the circuit breaker at intervals of 90' and 270 degrees of angular rotation of the mag-- neto rotor. Since the rotor as above described is capable of producing four impulses per' revolution it will be seen that the ram will act to suppress two of the current impulses which the rotoris capable of generating and utilizes the'other two at unequal lntervals, that is, 90 and 270 degrees of rotation of the rotor. driving the rotor at twice the speed of the engine'cr'ank shaft the necessary four sparks are produced but asymmetrically spaced 90 and 270 degrees of angularity of the rotor bnt since this runs twice engine crank shaft speed the angularity referred thereto will be 45 and 135 degrees. Hence substantially symmetrical sparks are produced but in asymmetrical periods of time.

After the sparks are generated, as above described, they must be delivered to the various el'igine cylinders in the proper order. In the said Mason-Hart application the contact segments in the distributer block are arranged in such angular order that two sparks follow each other at intervals of 221- degrees of rotation oithe distributing finger followed by an interval of 67-3 degrees, the contacts inthe block being spaced according to these angles from which it is seen that the distributer block must be made relatively large in order to give suificient space between the two contacts that are 22-;- degrees apart so that the distributor brush carried by the distributer finger will not leave a track between the said two contacts sufficient to cause the spark to jump. from one to the other.

My invention is directed more particularly to improvements in the distribution part or" the system rather than to the generating part. In fact, I have used thesanie generating device as shown in the said Mason-Hart application. In addition to' the distributing means for the service magneto, I have shown a source ofstarting'ignition 7 passed over the point 13, the breaker arm Fig. 4; is a sectional view on the line 1-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the details, in which like numbers refer to corresponding parts in the various views, 1 illustrates a magneto of the Dixie type having a rotor with four lobes 2, 3 and 4 of which are clearly seen.

The other lobe being directly behind 1 is not visible. Field structure 5 carries a high tension coil 6 having primary winding P and-secondary winding S. On the end of the rotor and inclosed within the breaker box cover 7 is a circuit breaker shown somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 2. One end of the primary winding P is connected to an adjustable contact 8 which cooperates with the movable contact 9 on the breaker arm lO which is grounded at G. The con denser 11 is connected across the breaker points 8 and 9. A cam 12 is attached to the breaker end of the rotor and as shown in Fig. 2 is about to open the contacts 8 and 9 at the point 13. After the bumper 14 has closes the contacts 8 and 9 and when the point 15 is reached by bumper 14 the con-- tacts 8 and 9 are again opened and held open until the point 16 is reached, which is preferably about 180 degrees from the point 15, which in turn is approximately 90 de grees from the point 13. The angular dis tance from 16 to 13 is made sufficient to allow the magnetic flux time to build up through the core of the coil so that the dis tance from 15 to 16 may be made more or less than 180 degrees but preferably more. WVhile the cam 12 has been acting on the breaker arm 10 in the manner described, the rotor has made one complete revolution and on account of the four lobes would have produced four magnetic impulses through the coil 6 had the primary circuit P n t been held open in the manner described.

. It has been found that the holding open of the primary for this period of time is ad vantageous in that it gives the iron in the magnetic circuit an opportunity to rest. or recuperate, as it were, by removing the ef fects of the coil windings on the iron and even though the rotor is driven at twice engine crank speed the two sparks delivered for one revolution of the rotor will stay in at speeds of the rotor greatly 1917, further description of the magneto does not appear necessary to make my in vention clear to one skllled 1n the art.

I will now describe my method of distributing the sparking current produced by the magneto. The secondary S of the coil 6 is adapted to be brought out of the insulating terminal 17 and it is then connected to the binding post 18 on a member of the distributing device having as an element a block 19. Mounted on the interior of the block 19, preferably molded therein, is an annular ring 20 to which the binding post 18 is securely connected as shown in Fig. 4;. 21 is a distributing finger having a hub 22 projecting into a holder 23 to which the finger 21 is securely fastened in any suitable manner, such as by cap 2 1 attached to the end of the holder 23. Fastened to the rim of the holder 23, in any suitable manner such as by bolts 25, is a gear wheel 26 which is adapted to mesh with another gear driven by some portion of the engine. It will be understood that this gear ratio is such that the distributing finger is driven at onefourth of the speed of the rotor of the magneto. The distributer block 19 is adapted to be fastened to some portion of the engine frame 27 by suitable studs and nuts 28. Finger 21' is of the double ended type carrying brush holders'29 and 30 in which brushes 31 and 32 are held in working position by springs 33 and 34. The brush holder 30 and brush 32 are placed in the finger 21 at an angle of 22.; degrees from a line passing through the center of the brush holder 29 and brush 31 and the axis of rotation of the distributing member or finger 21 for a purpose which Wlll be later described. Directly below the brush holder 29 and electrically connected thereto is another brush holder 35 carrymg a brush 36 which is held in contact with the annular ring 20 by spring 37.

I have shown associated with holder 30 and and brush can be eliminated by using a cross connector from the brush holder 29 to the brush holder 30, which connector may be molded wlth the finger 21.

Circumferentially mounted. within the in ner part of the rim of block 19 is a SGIiBS'Of plugs located in the cylinders: according to the proper firing order. In the diagrammatical view shown in Fig; 2 no attempt is made to show the firing order of the engine. By referring to Fig. 3, it will be seen that service ignition current will be carried by brush 31 to contact 38 and thence to the proper spark plug. While the brush 31 is on the contact 38, brush 32 is half way between contacts 39 and 42, it being; understood that the distributing finger travels one half engine crank shaft speed, the next spark will be required at an angular distance of 22% degrees of the distributing finger which means that whenbrush 32 reaches the contact 38 the'next spark will be produced at the plug. connected to contact 39. The next spark required is at an angle of 67:1- degrees and since when the brush 32 is on the contact 39, brush 31 has moved forward 22!; degrees from contact 38, consequently the brush 38 will move to contact 40 giving the required number of degrees, namely 67-}, and the brush 32 will be half way between contacts 44 and 41 so the next interval of 22% degrees will bring the brush 32 in circuit with contact 41 and so on. It will be seen that starting with contacts 38 and 39 as the beginning of two groups of contacts, that is even and odd, the sparking current is conveyed to alternate contacts in the block and while the contacts in the block are equally spaced yet the arrangement of the distributing brushes 011 the distributing finger is such as to produce the required result when these brushes engage the contacts as above described. By the arrangement set :lorth above, I am enabled to secure greater spacing between the distributer block contacts and hence reduce the chance for trouble oi the distributer brush leaving a track across from one contactto the other.

firs to the starting magneto, this may be of any construction, having a primary winding 7) and secondary winding 8 anda breaker aim adapted to be acted on by cam 47 'I )nc end of the secondary is grounded in the usual manner and the other end is connected to terminal 48 on the distributer block 19. Finger 21 carries a brush holder 49 within which a brush 50 contacts with the inner end of terminal 48 being held in operative posi tion by spring 511. Brush holder 49 has a double contact rod 52 connected thereto and embedded in the insulating portion of finger 21, preferably being molded therein. The two outer ends 53 and 54 of rod 52 terminate in a point in closeproximity to the contact terminals 38 to-45 inclusive so that when the engine isinia. position to be started on compression eitherthe point 53 or 54 is opposite the terminal connected to the plug that ism position to firethe charge in the engine cylinder. On. turning the crank of the. auxiliary magneto rapidly a spark is generated: which jumps across either one of the points 53 o rw54-totheterminal above mentioned: The sparkthus produced in the engine cylinden'starts the 1 engine forward and-immediately the main. magneto picks it up and further cranking. of the auxiliary magneto is not required. The starting spark is shown of the jump-type but a wipe spark contact as used in the main magneto circuit might be used, but the use of the jump-spark. contact eliminates brush wear.

WVhile I have shownithe starting device in the form of a-magneto a battery and coil or its equivalent may be used and it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various other changes and alterations may be made in the details 01 the parts entered into the system: without departing from the spirit of: my invention: and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. In an ignition system, a generator having a generative winding, a moving element adapted to produce in said winding four E. M. F. and current waves for each cycle of operation-of the moving element, a circuit breaker operated by the moving element for asymmetrically choosing two of said waves and suppressing the other two, in combination with a distributing apparatus for said waves consisting of a block having contacts equally spaced apart and a member driven in synchronism with said moving element, said member having brushes at both ends but electrically connected, one. of said brushes being set one half the distance between said block contacts away from a line passing through the center of the brush and the axis of rotation of the said member whereby said E. M. F. and current waves are distributed to all the even block contacts through one brush and to all the odd con tacts throughthe other brush in accordance with the firing order of the engine.

2. In an ignition system, a generator adapted to produce four E. M. F. and current waves for each rotation of its rotor, a

distributing device consisting of a block and rotary distributing member, a circuit breaker driven with the rotor for asymmetrically choosing two of said waves and suppressing the other two, said block carrying a plurality of asymmetrically arranged distributing terminals, said distributing member being double ended and carrying a brush on both ends, one of said brushes being set a predeterinincd distance away from a line passing through the center of the brush and the axis of rotation of the distributing member, whereby the current .waves or impulses selected are distributed among the terminals at unequal intervals corresponding to the firing order of the engine.

In an ignition system, a generator adapted to produce four E. M. F. and current waves for each rotation ,of its rotor, a circuit breaker adapted to asymmetrically produce one half of the corresponding plurality of breaks and discharges for each rotation of the rotor, and a distributing device consisting of a stationary block havii'ig equally spaced contacts and a distributing member constructed and driven so as to distribute the corresponding discharges in asymmetrical intervals to said equally spaced contacts of said block.

In a system of the class described, means for generating and distributing current impulses into a plurality of distribution circuits such as the sparking circuits of a multi-cylinder engine, comprising a field, a generating coil, and a rotor rotating in said field and adapted to produce in said coil four impulses per revolution, and a distributing member electrically connected to the coil and mechanically connected to syn chronously operate with the rotor through reducing gears, whereby said rotor will make a plurality of revolutions for each single revolution, of the distributing mem-' her, said distributing member being double ended and carrying a brush on both ends, one of said brushes being set a predetermined distance away from a line passing through the center of the brush and the axis of rotation of the distributing member, a block having a number of distribution terminals; therein symmetrically spaced and equal to the whole number of circuits to be served, with means including the distributing member to connect said coil in asymmetrical intervals to each one of said terminals during each revolution of the distributing member, together with an interrupter driven with the rotor and adapted to render the discharge circuit from the coil operative at unequal intervals at a predetermined point on the E. M. F. and current wave of only two impulses, said other two impulses being suppressed.

5. In an ignition system for eight cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engines, a generator adapted to be driven at twice engine crank shaft speed and having a source of magnetic flux, a generating coil, a rotating element adapted to direct the flux through said coil in combination with means to produce two current impulses spaced 45 and 185 degrees apart when referred to said engine crank shaft, a distributing device adapted to be attached to 7 shaft speed, an annular ring in said distributer block with means for connecting a termi-' nal of the generating coil thereto, a brush carried by said finger in running contact with said ring and a pair of brushes in electrical contact with the first for contacting vith said block terminals at intervals of 22% degrees as the finger rotates as described.

6. In an ignition system for eight cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engines, a generator adapted to be driven at twice engine crank shaft speed and having a source of magnetic flux, a generating coil, a rotating element adapted to direct the flux through said coil in combination with means to produce two current impulses spaced 45 and 135 degrees apart when referred to said engine crank shaft, a distributing device having as an element a distributer block adapted to be attached to said engine and having terminals equally spaced 45 degrees apart with means for connection to sparking devices in said engine cylinders, a double ended distributer finger associated with said block and means for carrying and driving said finger at one half engine crank shaft speed, a brush carried in both ends of said finger for contacting with said block terminals as the finger rotates, one of said brushes being spaced degrees from a line passing through the center of the other brush and the axis of rotation of said finger, a terminal on said block electrically connected to both said brushes and adapted tobe con- HOCtBCl to the generating coil.

7. In an ignition system for eight cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engines, a generator adapted to be driven at twice engine crank shaft speed and having a source of magnetic flux, a generating coil, a rotating element adapted to direct the flux through said coil in combination with means to producetwo current impulses spaced 45 and 135 degrees apart when referred to said engine crank shaft, a distributing block adapted to be attached to said engine and having terminals equally spaced 45 degrees apart with means for connection to sparking devices in said engine cylinders, a double ended distributer finger inside said block and having a hub projecting rearwardly from said block, acarrier to take said hub,

a gear driven by said engine at one half crank shaft speed and having said carrier fastened thereto, an annular ring set in the face of said distributer block with means for connecting a terminal of the generating coil thereto, a brush carried by said finger in running contact with said ring anda brush intboth-ends of said finger substantially at right angles to'the first mentioned' brush and electrically connected thereto for contact with said block terminals as the finger rotates, one of the last two mentioned brushes being displaced 22-1} degrees from a line pass ing through the center of the other brush and the axis of rotation of the finger, an auxiliary ignition generator, a terminal on said block adapted to be connected to said generator, a brush associated with the distributing finger 1n running contact with the last mentioned terminal, a pair of distributing contacts connected to the last mentioned brush and adapted to conduct sparking current to said distributer block terminals when said auxiliary generator is operated in the manner described.

8. In an ignition system for eight cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engines, a generator adapted to be driven at twice engine crank shaft speed and having a source of magnetic flux, a generating coil, a rotating element adapted to direct the flux through said coil in combination with means to produce two current impulses spaced 45 and 135 degrees apart when referred to said engine crank shaft, a dis tributer block adapted to be attached to said engine and having terminals equally spaced 45 degrees apart with means for connection to sparking devices in said engine cylinders; a double ended distributing finger inside said block geared to be driven by said engine at one half crank shaft speed, an an nular ring in said distributer block, means for connecting a terminal of the generating coil thereto, one or more brushes carried by said finger in running contact with said ring and a pair of brushes in electrical contact with the first mentioned brushes for contactin with said block terminals as the finger rotates, one of said pair of brushes being spaced 22,, degrees from a line passing through the center of the other brush of the pair and the axis of rotation of the finger, an auxiliary ignition generator, a terminal of said block adapted to be connected to said generator, a brush associated with the distributing finger in running contact with the last mentioned terminal, a double ended contact connected to the last mentioned brush and adapted to conduct sparking current to said distributer block terminals when said auxiliary generator is operated in the manner described.

9. The combination with an eight cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engine and a sparking device constructed to deliver four current impulses when driven at twice the engine crank shaft speed, of a distributing mechanism comprising a rotating finger geared to rotate at one fourth of finger being ,brushes being offset 221;

the speed of the rotating element of the around the periphery of said block at equal angular intervalsof 45 degrees, with means for conveying the sparking device current impulses to the distributing finger, said double ended and carrying a brush in both ends, one of said brushes being set 22% degrees away from a line passing through the center of the brush and the axis of rotation of the finger whereby said brushes convey the current impulses to the said contacts in the distributer block connected to the various engine cylinders in their proper firing order of 45 and 135 degrees.

10. The combination with an eight cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engine and a sparking device constructed to deliver four current impulses when driven at twice engine crank shaft speed, of a distributing mechanism comprising a rotating finger geared to rotate at one fourth of the speed of the rotating element of the sparking device and a distributor block having a series of eight contacts ar ranged around the perlphery of said block at equal angular intervals of 45 degrees with .means for conveying the sparking current impulses to the distributing finger, said distributer finger being double ended and carrying a brush on both ends, one of said degrees from the center line passing through the other brush in the axis of rotation of the finger whereby when said finger is rotated the current impulses are conveyed to said contacts alternately when considered in two groups of even and odd contactsas and for the purpose described.

11. In an ignition system for multi-cylinder 45 degree four cycle internal combustion engines, the combination of a generator adapted to deliver sparking current at intervals of 45 and 135 degrees, of a distributing device consisting of a block having contacts equally spaced apart and in number corresponding to the number of engine cyl inders and a distributing member driven at half engine crank shaft speed with current connecting means to said generator, said member carrying brushes so arranged as to deliver the sparkin current to said contacts at intervals of 22 and 67 degrees of rotacylinders and a distributing member driven at half engine crank shaft speed with current connecting means to said generator, said member carrying brushes so arranged as to deliver the sparking current to said contacts at intervals of 22% and 67% degrees of rotation of the said member, with means for starting said engine consisting of an auxiliary source of current, sparking con- 1 tacts carried by said distributing member in 10 retarded position from said brushes and means for connecting said starting current to said sparking contacts as described.

In witness whereof, 'I aflix my signature.

ALFRED 0. DE LORME. 

